ON TIIE GRAPE. 
315 
rons, like clouds of smoke curling, fill the twilight air to a great height." 
— Analyst, July , 1835. The gnat is the favourite food of the hirun- 
dines, and therefore, the gnat is endowed with an instinct not to 
venture abioad till the birds have retired to rest. Many are captured, 
however, by the swallow tribe while floating on the surface, before 
their ascent into the air. 
Of the Grape.— “ The great importance of this fruit, as being 
one of the richest gifts of nature to man, must be the author’s excuse 
for being more diffuse in his account of the history and culture of the 
queen of fruits, than otherwise might be thought necessary ; but he will 
endeavour to be as brief as possible, more especially as he begins to find 
his manuscript swelling under his hand to a much greater extent than 
he either anticipated or intended. 
“The cultivation of the vine seems to have been coeval with man in his 
first state of civilisation. The use and abuse of its precious juice appears 
to have been known even in Noah’s time; and no doubt the plant followed 
the footsteps of man into every region and climate where the plant could 
succeed. The warmer parts of the temperate zone are the natural 
climate of the vine, or upon the elevated parts of tropical countries, 
where the sun’s heat is mitigated by the height of the mountains above 
the level of the sea. 
“That the vine was gradually brought from the southern to the northern 
parts of Europe, is a very natural transition. Whether it was brought 
into England by the Romans, is not, perhaps, certain ; but we are well 
assured that as soon as this country came under the ecclesiastical govern¬ 
ment of the Pope of Rome, and when that then powerful potentate 
established colonies of Italian monks in various parts of these kingdoms, 
they introduced for their own personal gratification every species 
of their own native fruit and vegetables which had any chance of 
succeeding in Britain. Among the rest the vine was not forgotten. 
This tree was not only planted against the walls surrounding the mon¬ 
asteries ; but considerable portions of the most suitable land belonging to 
these establishments were planted and enclosed as vineyards for the 
production of fruit only. Some of these enclosures remain to this day, 
though the vines have long ago been rooted out. That vineyards 
were planted by, and in possession of laymen in those days, is also 
evident, from examination of some tithe-rolls belonging to religious 
houses, in which the tithe of wine or grapes are particularly mentioned. 
“ Now, although we are informed that vineyards were planted, and 
yielded fruit in great quantities in those early times, we need not 
suppose that the grapes were fully ripe. Excellent wine can be made 
